Gear-cutter



(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 1. D. SLATE.

GEAR CUTTER.

No. 326,889. Patented Sept. 22, 1885.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 2. D. SLATE.

GEAR GUTTER. No. 326,889. Patented Sept. 22, 1885.

N. PETERS, Photoiuhognphnr, Washmgloll. r. c.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 3. D. SLATE.

GEAR CUTTER.

No. 326,889. Patented Sept. 22, 1885.

N. versus. Photo-Ldhngraphcr. wmm m, o. c.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 4. D. SLATE.

GEAR CUTTER.

No. 326,889. Patented Sept. 22, 1885.

W 'BS WAQW M r M, Qa/ZZ N. PETERS, Fhcwulhe m her. Washington. D c.

6 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

D. SLATE.

GEAR CUTTER.

Eatented Sept. 22, 1885.

6 Sheets-Sheet 6. D. SLATE.

GEAR CUTTER.

(No Model.)

No. 326,889. Patented Sept. 22, 1885.

N. PETERS, Pnuwumn n hen wasmn mn, n. c.

DWIGHT SLATE, OF HARTFORD, ASSIGNOR TO THE E. HORTON 8: SON COMPANY, OF WVINDSOR LOCKS, CONNECTICUT.

GEAR-CUTTE R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 326,889, dated September 22, 1885.

Application filed November-13, 1883.

T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DWIGHT SLATE, of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Gear-Cutters; andIdo hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, whereby a person skilled in the art can make and use the same, reference being had to the ac companying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Like letters in the figures indicat the same parts.

Figure 1 is afront elevation of myimproved machine for cutting gear-wheels. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail top view,on enlarged seale,otpart of the main index-wheel, of the smaller index-wheel, and connected-mechanism. Fig. 4 is aview in elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the feed-lever in'plane and in elevation. Fig. 6 is a detail side View of the cam-arm which, fast to the worm-gear, bears a face-cam for imparting motion to the index-wheel by means of thebell-crank lever. Fig. 7 is a top View of same. Fig. 8 is a face view of the cam on the arm. Fig. 9 is a detail view of the yielding stop and dog borne on the large index-wheel. Fig. 10 is a detail side view of part of the stop mechanism. Fig. 11 is a rear view of part of the stop mechanism and shifting devices. Fig. 12 is a view in longitudinal vertical section of the machine, on enlarged scale, taken through the center of the chuck and at one side of the connection-rochwith the parts broken away to better illustrate the mechanism. Fig. 13 is a view, on an enlarged scale, in vertical crosssection in front of the cutter-shaft with the chuck omitted. Fig. 14 is a detail view of the trip-lever and parts immediately connected, looking from the left in Fig. 1. Fig. 15 is a detail view of the same parts, also on an enlarged scale, looking from the point of view, as in Figs. 1 and 10. Fig. 16 is a detail view in elevation of parts of the rocking pulleyframe, showing the counter-shaft and manner of pivoting the swinging frame.

My invention relates to the class of devices used for cutting gear-wh eels automatically; and it consists of the special combination of the va- (No model.)

rious parts by which the several steps of feeding, cutting, and stopping are automatically taken when they are considered as a whole, and also as distinct parts in the details, more particularly hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A denotes the bed-frame of the machine, made preferably of iron, and having the bed a and suitable standards; B, a vertical sleeve arranged centrally of the bed, and bearing a rotary shaft, 1), which has fast to'its upper end a chuck, C, and to its lower end a large gearwheel, D. Fast to the lowerpartot' thesleeve is a frame, I), to which is attached the index mechanism E, and also a cover, 6, for the gear-wheel D, to protect it from dust and accidental blows. On the upper side of the bed a are hearings to, in which is pivoted a rocking bed, a, having a downwardly-projecting arm, a with a slot in which the clampbolt (6* operates to bind the bed, and on the side of the bed a graduated are of a circle, (5, which, in connection with an indeX-finger, a, fast to bed a, serves to determine the angle that the surface of the rocking bed makes with the surface of the main bed a. This bed a supportsin ord nary ways or guides the sliding gear-cutter mechanism F. which consists of the foot-pieeef, the vertical head f rising from the foot-piece and bearing the vertically-adjustable frame f, which carries in suitable bearings the cutter-shaft f attached to which is a cutter, f. The outer end of this cutter-shaft bears a pulley, f which is driven by a belt, as from a counter-shaft, and

it has a socket at its inner end into which fits the conical-pointed tail-piecef. The shaft and the tail-piece are both made longitudinally adjustable in their bearings in frame f by the use of the clamp-screwsff, and the out ter can, by use of this adjustment, be held so as to work exactly in a plane in the line of a diameter of the chuck parallel to the bed a. The framef is adjusted by the ordinary handscrew, f projected through the top of the rocking bed a", and into the projecting part of the adjustable framef, substantially as seen in Fig. 12 of the drawings, and is clamped in any part of its path by tightening the bolt f.

In the machine shown the cutter-pulley and connected spindle are driven by a belt from a pulley on a shaft in the rocking pulley-frame tween two teeth. The shaft It bears on its G, which is pivoted in bearings fast to the floor, (see Figs. 1, 2, and 16,) and the tension of this belt is adjusted by means of the rod g. This rod has at its opposite ends'right and left hand threads fitted to sockets in the bearings, which are connected with cutter-shaftf and the shaft 9 in the pulley-frame. Its method of operation is obvious: Turned in one direction it throws these shafts farther apart, in the other draws them inward. driven from any suitable source of power, and belts from pulleys fast to this drive the upper shaft, 9, which in turn drives the cutter-shaft, and also by the cross-belt g the shaft g, from which the worm-shaft h of the feed mechanism H is driven. A bracket, A, fast to or integral with the bed-frame A, extends from the left end-0f the frame in the direction of its length, and to this is secured bearings for the worm-shaft h and other parts of the feed ID6011- anisin. (See Figs. 1. 2. 10. 11, and 12.) To the upper corner of the bracket, and projecting inward from it, is secured the shaft h, which bears the rotary worm-gear h in mesh with the worm h on the worm-shaft 71. Fast to this shaft h, and turning with the worn1- gear, is the cam h, which shaft also bears the arm h, which terminates in a wide segment of a circle, it, having a face-cam, h. This arm h is pivoted to the shaft, and has a transverse slot at about half its length, through which a bolt fast to a spoke of the worm-gear it projects, and by means of a nut on this bolt the arm may be clamped to the wheel after such lateral adjustn'ient as will secure proper contact between the cam on the face of the sector and the upright stud on the end of the bell-crank lever h, which. is pivoted horizontally on the frame. To the other end of this lever is pivoted the connecting-rod h, attached at t to the index mechanism E, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. The bent lever is, pivoted to the upper part of the bracket A, moves in a vertical plane, and has in its upper arm a slot, is, and at the extremity of its lower arm a segmental gear, is", in mesh with the pinion it, fast to the rotary shaft k which has a bearing in the lower part of the bracket A, and is part of the stop mechanism L. One end of the rod k has a threaded socket in the head, pivotally connected to the lever at the slot k, and the other end has a similar socket in the head, that is pivoted to the back of the head f of the cutter mechanism. By turning this rod the distance between the lever and cutterhead is determined, and the lock-nuts on the rod are used to clamp them at any desired distance apart.

The overlying arrows denote the direction in which the belts and other parts movefand when they are thus moving the rotation of the wormshaft hdrives the worin-gear h and revolves the cam h, the face of which is in contactwith the upper edge of the lower end of the lever k, Fig. 10, and by this means the cutter f" is drawn across the annular gear-blank c, which is held by the chuck O, and cuts a space be-' The lower shaft, is

outer end a pulley around the face of which is wound a strap, is, with one end fast to the pulley and the other and pendent end holding the weight k. This weight tends to turn the wheel and the connected shaft and pinion, and when the shoulder-the highest point'on the cam h passes the end of the bent lever the latteris free to be moved back to make contact with the cam below its shoulder, and to do this is the function of the weight and connected parts just described. This latter motion of the lever also slides the cutting mechanism forward-that is, toward the axis of the chuck-the cutter passing through the blank in the space just cut, as noted above, and the continued revolution of the cam depresses the lower arm of the lever and draws the cutter back, making a new cut, the blank having been fed around another step, determined by the index mechanism E. Thisindex mechanism is attached to the outer end of the arm b, where the vertical rotary shaft 6 is held in a socket, and having a small pinion, e, fitted thereon to mesh with the main index-wheel D, as shown in dotted lines in Fig.3 -of the drawings, and also has attached near its 'upper end a small index-wheel, 6, held against vertical play by a shoulder under it and the spring-washer e and nut on the shaft above it.

' The index-wheel e is raised somewhat above the plane of the main index-wheel, and just below it, on the shaft 6, is pivoted the feed-1e. ver 0 free to revolve, so far as the shaft is concerned, in a horizontal plane, while the shaft. pinion, and index-wheel are rigidly connected so as to turn together. This feed-lever has three armsone, e pivoted to the rod h and clamped by a bolt and thumb-nut that make the connection adjustable, another, e bearing a finger-rest, and the other, e, being the pawl and finger base. A pawl, e", is pivotally and adj ustably attached to this base 6" by a bolt, 6 supported on the base by a shoulder and secured to it by a nut from below. The pawl is pressed toward the index-wheel by a spring secured to the base, and in the forward end of this base the finger l is pivoted to swing horizontally. This finger is curved outward, is cut away vertically near its pivot, forming a mortise, l, and has a wedge-shaped point that rests upon the finger-rest e on the feed-lever 6, so that when the latter is turned by a pull on the rod h the finger Z passes in of the frame b, near its lower edge, is attached the adjustable index-guard plate m with horizontal ,slots where the attachingscrews passthrough it, and with an arm, m, (see Figs. 3 and 4,) that is arranged along the face of the index-wheel and between its teeth and the point of the pawl. The pawl when moved slides on this plate m, which, being fast to the frame, does not move with the feedlever and its connected parts. This plate at also limits the backward play of the feed-lever e, as the arm c projects between the upper and lower arms of this plate, and its edge comes in contact with the vertical edge of the plate, Fig. 4.

The index-wheels are made with various numbers of teeth having a given relation to the number in the pinion and in the main index-wheel, so that any desired number of teeth may be cut in the blank fastened in the chuck.

The index-guard plate m is adjustable by means of the slots and screws to a position along the face of the index-wheel that will allow the point of the pawl e to engage a tooth at any required distance from the bolt Ziwhich latter may be termed the zero-point of the index.

In the machine illustrated the pawl 6 will take into the sixth space back of the bolt l and in each succesive forward movement will feed six teeth of the index wheel past the bolt or zero-point, because when the point of the pawl slips off the end of the arm m, which covers the teeth in the small index-wheel, it engages in the space next back of the sixth tooth from the zero-point. The rod h", on being moved to the left (see Figs. 1, 2) by the devices already described, rotates the feedlever e, which thrusts back the bolt Z and 1111- locks the index-wheel. As soon as the point of the pawl e clears the front end of the arm on of the index-guard, it engages with the teeth on the index-wheel and rotates it a distance determined by the adjustment of the feed-lever on the rod h. This distance, however, is always such that the stud on the lower side of the bolt, in its travel along the back of the finger, reaches the mortise Z, and, pushing through it, allows the bolt to find a socket between the teeth of the index-wheel. The spring b connecting the frame b and the arm of the feed-lever c, has been extended by the pull on the rod, and, reversing the motion of the lever and connected parts, returns them to their first position, the stud by contact with the inner face of the flange Z holding the tinger 1 back of it as the latter returns. The parts are now in position to repeat the forward feed of the index-wheel that, by means of the pinion and main index-wheel, turnsthe blank forward, that another tooth may be cut; and these intermittent movements of the cutter, feed, and index mechanisms, alternating with the pauses during which the teeth are cut in the blank, are automatically repeated as long as the machine is in operation.

One other feature remains to be considered, and that is the stop device which automatically operates to stop the machine as soon as the last tooth on the blank has been finished. In a convenient positionas at the left of the machinethe rocking belt-shifter n is pivoted to the floor under the cover a, that is fastened to the floor by screws through the ears, as shown. One arm, a, has a fork that straddles the driving-belt and serves to shift it from the fast pulley to the loose pulley g and back when the handle-lever n is rocked. This lever 11. has an arm, n, that projects inward, and to it is attached the spring n fast by its upper end to the frame A, and constantly tending to lift this arm and throw the handle a outward to the position shown in Fig. 11 in dotted lines. In the plane in which this lever moves an arm, 0, fast to the frame, projects, and in a dovetailed socket bears the slide 0 from which a pin, 0", projects into the slot 0 in the lever-handle. A spring-latch, 0 pivoted to the upper side of arm o,projects downward, so as to catch into a notch in the upper edge of the slide. This device locks the shifter-lever at both limits of its path, and the machine may be at any time stopped by lifting the catch and allowing the spring a to throw the lever and so shift the belt. Just below the pinion it and in the plane of motion of the lever k, an arm, 19, projects from the frame A and bears the sliding carrier 1", which has on its upper surface the rack r, in mesh with the pinion, the motion of which reciprocates the carrier on the arm. The carrier bears the horizontal feeler rod s, adjustably secured in the sleeve t, which slides freely in its socket in the lower part of the carrier. The bindingscrews tits in the threaded socket in the sleeve, and serves to hold the rod in the desired position in the sleeve, and the outer end of the binding-screw, projecting through a slot, 8 in the side of the carrier, is grasped by the forked upper end of the trip-lever t, which is pivoted to the carrier and moves with ,it. The spiral spring 1", having one end attached to the lower side of the carrier and the other end to the sleeve, (see Fig. 10,) serves to hold the sleeve and rod forward in the socketthat is, toward the axis of the main index-wheel. The point of the trip-lever takes under a projection on the latch, substantialiy as seen in Fig. 15 of the drawings, and when the lever is pushed back, as by means of the pin 8, substantially as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 15, it lifts the latch,which releases the slide 0 and allows the spiral spring a to throw the lever 72 of the belt-shifting mechanism, and thus stop the machine by shifting the belt from the fast to the loose pulley.

Fast to the upper surface of the main Wheel D is a yielding stop, a, consisting of a rotary dog, it, having the upturned end it and a squared end, a, the latter being in contact with and pressed by the flat spring a. This stop is secured in such a position that the wheel in turning takes it across the path of the inner end of the feeler-rod, that projects through the standard of the frame A, and at such a level that the end of the rod can strike the edge of the end a when the rod has moved forward and the dog has stopped in its path,

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as will be the case after the last out in the blank has been made.

The cutter-sliding mechanism and that moving the feeler-rod s are so connected that the cutter and the rod move forward and back simultaneously and without interruption, unless the end of the rod which is nearest the main index-wheel strikes the front edge of the upright part it of the dog in the stop to.

When the parts of the machine are in position to make the first cut in the blank, the inner end of the rod extends over the dog and has its center in the same vertical plane with the axis of the dog. To do this the upturned end u must be .pushed aside, and this is done by turning it sidewise by contact with the sides of the feeler-rod. As the cut in the blank is being made the feeler-rod moves back with the cutter, and as soon as the end of the rod has slipped past the dog the latter rights itself under the push of the spring upon the squared end of the dog, and the end u" stands in a vertical plane. When the last out is made, the cutter is moved forward through it and into position for another cut, and the feelerrod slides forward at the same time; but the stop on the main index-whcel has returned to its first position, and the upturned end directly in the path of the rod stops it. The carrier r, however, continues to move forward with the cutter and carries along with it the trip-lever t,- but as the rod has stopped with the pin or screw 3, the trip-lever t is tilted over, so that its curved end lifts the hook of the latch 0 out of the notch-in the slide 0, and by freeing the slide allows the spring 12 which is under tension when the slide is moved inward, toward the machine, to throw thelever-handle n outward and shift the belt to a loose pulley on the shaft 9. The sleeve B and supported index-wheel and chuck are adjusted along the bed by means of the threaded shaft bflheld t0- the'end of the frame by the bindingshoulders, and having a threaded socket in the plate 1) fast to the sleeve. The cross-piece 1), adj ustably attached to the top of the bed-frame A, bears the vertically-adjustable rest '0. This is a bolt standing vertically in a threaded socket, and with a large head adapted to be raised into contact with and support the edge of the chuck-plate from the under side just opposite the cutter, to prevent chattering and uneven work in cutting the gear.

The above-described machine is especially adapted for cutting the ring-gears for chucks, the blanks being held by the radially-moving arms 0", thrown out by the tapered shank of the plug 0 as it is turned into the socket in the center of the chuck.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a gear-cutter, in combination, a diskshaped chuck arranged in a horizontal plane and having a central supporting-shaft, and a v ertically-adj ustablesupporting-rest arranged beneath the rim of the chuck, substantially as described.

2. In a gear-cutter, in combination, the index mechanism E, the-chuck 0, fast to the top of the vertical shaft b, the adjustable rest 12 '0, the rocking bed a, and connected cutter mechanism, with means for rotating the cutter, all substantially as described.

3. In a gear-cutter, in combination, the index mechanism E, the feed mechanism H, the cutting mechanism F, and the adj ustable connecting-rods h and k all substantially as described.

41.. In a gear-cutter, the rotary shaft h, having the worm h, the worm-gear h, bearing the adjustable arm h, with face-cam h", the rotary cam h turning with the arm and wormgear, and the bent lever 70, held in contact with the cam by the pinion and counterpoise-weight F, in combination with the connected gear-cutting and index mechanism, all substantially as described.

5. In a gear-cutter, the bentlever is, having an arm bearing a segmental gear, k, the rotary cam h, and pinion h in combination with the connected feed and stop mechanism, all substantially as described.

6. In a gear-cutter, rocking pulley-frame G, with its shafts and pulleys, the rod 9, the cutter-shaft bearing'cutterf, the adjustable frame f, the vertical head f and foot-piece f of the rocking bed a ,the rod 70 and the lever k, in combination with the feed mechanism H and index mechanism E, with a vertical shaft bearing the main index-wheel and the chuck, all substantially as described.

7. In a gear-cutter, as index mechanism, the reciprocating rod h, the main index-wheel D, the frame b, supported from the bed-frame, holding the vertical shaft 6, bearing the pinion 6' and index-wheele, the feed-lever e, pivoted to shaft e and rod h, and bearing the pawl 6 finger-rest e, and finger Z, in combination with plate m and spring-bolt I, having the projecting stud, all substantially as described.

8. In the index mechanism of a gear-cutter, in combination, the frame b, supportingshaft e, the index-wheel e, the lever e, pivoted on shaft 6 with the arms 6 e, and 6 bearing the finger Z and pawl e and the adjustable indexplate m, with arm m placed between the index-wheel and the pawl, all substantially as described.

9. In the index mechanism of a gear-cutter, the adjustable index-plate m, bearing an arm, m, interposed between the index-wheel and the operating-pawl, all substantially as described.

10. In a gear-cutter, the main index-wheel D, bearing the stop 'device u, in combination with the reciprocating feeler-rod fast to the sleeve in the carrier bearing the trip-lever, the trip-lever, and the spring-latch of the beltshifter device, all substantially as described.

11. 'In combination, the rotary chuck O, the

adjustable rocking bed a, the reciprocating foot-piece f, formed with a vertical head, f,

the vertically-adjustable frame f, carrying the rotary cutter f*, and means for rotating the cutter, substantially as described.

12. In combination, the bent lever is and 5 means, substantially as described, for imparting a vibratory movement thereto, the adj ustable connecting-rod R the foot-piece f f, formed with avertically-adjustable frame, f, 1 and the rotary cutter f, mounted on bearings [O on the frame f, and provided with a pulley,

f substantially as described, and for the purpose stated.

13. In combination with the vertically-adjustable rotary cutter f and the chuck-wheel I 5 O, the vertically-adjustable rest on, arranged beneath the rim of the said chuck and directly under the cutter, substantially as described.

14. In combination with the frame-bed a, 20 provided with a clamping-bolt, a, and the index-pointer a, the bed a, mounted on bearings a on the frame, and having the downwardly-projected arm provided with a curved slot to receive the clamping-bolt a, and a graduated arc, a substantially as described, 25 and for the purpose stated.

15. In combination with a rocking bed formed with guideways and mounted on bearings on the frame and adjustable in a vertical plane on its bearings, and a reciprocating o head-piece adapted to move within the guides on said rocking bed, a rotary cutter mounted on bearings in said head-piece and vertically adjustable therein, substantially as described, and for the purpose stated.

DWIGHT SLATE.

Vvitnesses:

CHAS. L. BURDETT, B. S. WooDWARD. 

